Sunday, November 27, 2011

I had a conundrum one night. I had painted a quick watercolour of my favourite island in Brazil (Florianopolis), but I hated the way the rocks turned out. I had to figure out a way to fix and disguise them... so I decided to soak some rice paper in glue and create textures. I liked the way it turned out and decided to try this technique with my students at school. In addition, I masked out certain areas (which appear white). It was simple but striking... I've posted my class's results below.

What I love about my school and school board is that we include students of every ability and background in our classrooms. My current grade 11 class is one of those groups, where we all teach each other and have a great amount of fun- because we all love art! Click on the pictures below to see the textures close-up.

I thought I had lost these pictures, but they were backed up, whew! It always amazes me to see the art that is created by students who have just learned most of their fine art skills- I'm always so proud of them! I'm posting some of my favourites, from October.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

These drawings were inspired by the work at Allen Smutylo's exhibit Wild Places Wild Hearts: Nomads of the Himalaya. The students found photographs of people from another culture that they liked, then found a pattern or piece of textile from that culture to create a background with. Their final pieces were BIG and have not all photographed well- but you'll get the idea. I have a few more to add soon.

The grade 10 students were asked to take a photograph and cut it up into four pieces to create a new composition. Then, they used this design as the basis for their conte drawing. *One more needs to be uploaded, it's being perfected :)

About Me

Wrote when she was in grade two that she wanted to be "an art teacher". After graduating from high school, she attended the University of Toronto and Sheridan College for a degree and diploma in Fine Art and Art History. This was followed by acceptance into the specialized Artist in Community Bachelor of Education program at Queens University, for a select number of artists, musicians, and actors. Deciding to branch off into another area, she continued on to the Critical Disabilities graduate program at York University. She has worked on projects with the Dolores Olmedo Museum, and the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico City. This was followed by teaching history for two years at a preparatory high school in Mexico. For the past seven years, she has taught at Sacred Heart High School in Walkerton, Ontario. She has also participated in many fine art exhibitions throughout Ontario. She lives with her husband, adorable chocolate labrador and wonderful baby boy. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, learning new languages, taking photos, and swimming.